


Bad Situation

by spideyranger



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Ableism, Angst, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Spencer Reid, Hurt Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Spencer Reid Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27001624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideyranger/pseuds/spideyranger
Summary: Reid and JJ get stuck in a bad situation when going undercover to investigate a string of deaths at a residential living facility.
Comments: 29
Kudos: 134





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this to be a much longer chapter so that this is only a 2 chapter fic instead of 3, but I am so tired and my back hurts lol. I might divide this fic into Chapter 1.5 and Chapter 2 and post both 1.5 (the second half of this chapter) and 2 tomorrow, depending on energy levels. 
> 
> Comments boost my energy so feel free to comment on this fic and/or my other one (Out of Place) to give me a lil energy boost tomorrow!  
> \--  
> 30 days until my birthday! 🥳

“Let’s meet at the roundtable in 5” Hotch says glancing at his team members in the bullpen. His expression is somber and posture slightly hunched. The file he’s holding in his hand is gripped tighter than normal. Morgan and Prentiss shoot each other a look, eyebrows drawn in quizzically, wondering what about the case could have Hotch so tense. Morgan glances at Reid who has gone back to scanning the report he was looking at, oblivious to the shifting atmosphere of the team. 

“The case is in Washington, DC where a residential living home called Special People is located. Special People houses autistic adults aged 18 to 49, they’ve been gaining a lot of media attention because 3 of their residents have been murdered.” Garcia clicks to an image of the first victim. 

“Aiden Matthews, 19, was the first murder that happened a month ago. He was supposedly out at his regular group therapy appointment when he died. 

Next is Milo Reese, 27, Milo was on a group troup to the supermarket when he went missing. 24 hours later he showed up dead. 

Brandon David, 41, was at his job. He stepped outside for fresh air and was found dead on a bench in front of the building when he didn’t return five minutes later.   
No drugs or toxins were found in any of their systems, and there was no evidence of foul play.” 

Hotch jumps in once Garcia has finished running through the victim report. “We’ll be heading out to D.C. to investigate and begin building a profile. Unfortunately due to the secluded nature of the living facility and the fact they have been garnering such negative media attention in the past month, they’ve pretty much closed themselves off from public view. Which is why we’ll need to also plant someone inside to help us build the profile”. 

Hotch pauses as everyone’s eyes jump to Reid. He’s autistic--a fact that he struggles to hide and has been easily identified by many local law enforcement officers on cases, sometimes inciting discriminatory actions towards Reid. 

Reid’s eyes go wide as he realizes what this probably means for him. He obviously can’t say no to the request but the very idea of having to do this is starting to unleash anxiety in him. 

“They’re hiring some new staff members to help make the home feel more secure for parents and guardians of current residents, so we submitted an application for JJ. They’re interested in doing an on-site interview tomorrow morning. Additionally, Reid, we submitted an emergency shelter application on their website for you to be placed in the home. They’re obviously receiving limited placement requests at the moment, so this will hopefully mean we can plant you sooner. Rossi will drop Reid off once we get confirmation of your placement and will act as the overstretched father battling cancer who must leave their autistic son somewhere to be cared for. We have more detailed profiles of your roles that we can share in the car on the way to D.C.” 

\--  
The team piles into two separate SUV’s for the 45 minute ride from Quantico to D.C. Prentiss, Morgan, and JJ take one car while Reid, Hotch, and Rossi take another, leaving Garcia behind in Quantico to work remotely. 

Hotch drives and Rossi sits in the passenger seat while Reid rides in the back. He’s gnawing on his knuckle and bouncing his leg as he reads through the profile of his undercover identity. 

“Kai German, 21, diagnosed with Level 2 autism at age 3; hyperlexic and semi-verbal. Father, Daveed German, diagnosed with Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer and undergoing rigorous treatment soon. Will not be able to care for his son during and potentially after while in recovery. 

Kai is described as friendly but withdrawn, father is trying to wean him off of his caffeine addiction. Meltdowns are sparse and generally prompted by sensory overload or intense communication frustrations. 

Kai relies on a mixture of speech and AAC to communicate. Father encourages AAC in addition to stimming as he says it helps Kai “self regulate”. 

Kai loves reading and has been reading since age 2…”

The profile continues listing fictitious facts about “Kai” and the various therapies, support services, and events that he’s encountered over his lifetime. 

“Reid--” Hotch interrupts his thoughts, glancing in the rearview mirror in an attempt to make eye contact with him. Reid avoids looking directly at him but tilts his head slightly towards him. “--I know that this can be really stressful, but as much as I hate to say it: lean into that stress, don’t fight it. We need you to deliver on this role so we can avoid raising suspicion.” 

Rossi turns around to glance back at Reid, “That being said, kid, try not to hurt yourself. Your knuckle must be in pain, why don’t you gnaw on your chewie instead?”

Slowly, Reid takes his suggestion and pulls his chewie out of his messenger bag with his left hand, replacing his right hand with the toy. A mix of saliva, blood, and bite marks surround his knuckle. Rossi hands him a napkin and pocket-sized first aid kit. Grimacing in pain, Reid drags the napkin over his hand to dry it off. The coarse material stings, bringing on a sharp bout of discomfort. He opts out of using an alcohol pad or band-aid and starts rubbing his wrist instead. 

Rossi and Hotch make eye contact in the front of the vehicle, agreeing with their eyes that this is going to be a difficult process.


	2. Chapter 1.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small update
> 
> \--  
> 29 days until my birthday :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um not me lowkey triggering a bunch of anxiety writing this fic 😅 This fic features abuse to autistic adults (although I highly doubt it will be super graphic) but like my mind is freaking out everytime I go to write it. So, I'm doing it piece by piece. I feel a bit ridiculous bc like I said it's not even super graphic or anything but anxiety doesn't gaf.

“JJ just sent in her status report”, Garcia says over the phone. Hotch, Reid, Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss are gathered around a table in the local law enforcement office with Garcia on speaker. “It should be to all of your phones now”.

Morgan is the first to open JJ’s report from the field. She’d been hired on the spot 3 days ago during her on site interview at Special People and moved in later that day. Rossi was scheduled to drop Reid off first thing tomorrow morning so he could begin his part of the undercover investigation as a resident. 

“Hotch, JJ is strongly suggesting we don’t send Reid in tomorrow” Morgan says, his brow furrowed and his stance squared protectively. 

“He’s right, sir” Garcia says over the phone. “JJ says that they use a lot of force and manipulation to coerce residents to comply with their demands. Apparently last night a resident was resistant at meal time, to force him to eat his meal they placed him in a closet used for solitary confinement for hours without his communication device and only let him out once he had calmed down, then force fed him his meal, strapping him to a chair until it was done. According to JJ, he was throwing up the next day during school and they sent him to the hospital for a check-up. The reason he was so resistant to food was because he was in the early stages of appendicitis that was almost completely missed.”

The room is silent except for the tap of Spencer’s converse as he paces the room. “Even if the murders end up being coincidentally tied to them, I’m going to personally make sure they shut down for abuse”. Morgan states angrily.

Reid laughs, “Why? Why is it abuse when they do it, but not when everyone else does it? Teachers lock autistic kids in storage closets all the time for being a “disruption”. Parents strap their kids to chairs and ABA therapists make their living forcing compliance onto us. Why now does it matter? It won’t change anything!”  
The team glances at each other across the table. “Reid, I get that you’re upset but--” Hotch starts. 

“NO” Reid huffs angrily, his steps having evolved from angry pacing across the room to tight circles in one spot. 

“Reid” Hotch tries again. “Believe me when I say none of us support those things and we would not be asking you to do this if it weren’t absolutely necessary.”

“--but JJ” Reid cuts in.

“JJ is there to get insight from the perspective of someone in authority there, but there is only so much she can be privy to as a newcomer at a time when so much of their operations are up for question. We need you as a resident because that would garner a different perspective and level of treatment and access that may not be extended to JJ. 

By going in there you’ll be helping us stop them from killing other autistic adults and the sooner we gather the intel we need to build a profile and find our unsub, the sooner we can shut down the facility and end their abuse on their residents.” 

Reid sniffles, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. The past few days he’s experienced nothing but mounting stress at the prospect of going undercover. So much of himself that he tries to hide or stifle is going to be on display, leaving him vulnerable and because he has to stay in character he can’t even help the other residents there--just sit silently and watch as they undergo whatever abuse is doled out to them. 

As someone who has experienced a lifetime of abuse and discrimination from others because of his autism, having to choose to place himself into an environment where this abuse festers with the expectation that he cannot rely on the coping mechanisms he’s established has pushed him into a downward spiral of anxiety. 

He hasn’t been able to sleep or eat and Hotch ordered him to stay away from coffee until the case is over so that he can better fit the profile they gave the facility of a coffee addict being weaned off their addiction. None of this has helped Reid’s mental state and frankly, he’s been having such a rough time. 

Rossi stands up facing Reid, “Why don’t we go get something to eat” he says attempting to diffuse the situation by giving Reid space to process his frustration away from the full team. Leading Reid out of the door, Rossi throws a grimace over his shoulder to the rest of the team.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some time spent undercover at SP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been slowly working on this for the past couple of weeks. A bit stressed writing it lol. I'm just trying to get this fic done at this point 😭 If anyone is interested in co-writing, please message me!

“Welcome to Special People, I’m Marie!” A lady with a surgery-sweet smile that could rot your teeth greets Reid and Rossi at the door. She leads them into a sitting room and invites them to take a seat. 

“Thank you” Rossi sighs, easing into a chair heavily. Marie nods sympathetically at him, pity flashing across her face as she nods. 

“Getting ready to start treatment soon, huh?” She states, grabbing some papers off the mantle over the fireplace across from them.  
“Yup, looking forward to getting well already for Kai”. Rossi looks to where Reid is pacing the length of the sitting room agitatedly. He’s wearing black noise cancelling headphones and twisting his tangle in his hand. 

“Kai, do you want to sit down with us?” Marie says placing her papers in her chair as she stands before going over to Reid and attempting to lead him to an empty chair. 

“No” Reid says, attempting to brush her off and go back to pacing. 

Rossi chuckles,”Kai loves moving, helps him self-regulate”. Marie nods, silent. 

“In your paperwork you stated that he’s only been placed in speech and occupational therapies in the past. So, no history with ABA or any behavioral-based therapy solutions? Did his OT happen to also have a BCBA certification?”

“No, no ABA. I prefer he have full agency over his body and movements. Speech therapy allowed us to work on the language he does have--as you saw he speaks, just only when he has something to say.” Rossi smiles fondly, looking at Reid as though he really were his doting father. Briefly he mentally notes the irony of Spencer having to play a role of someone who minimally relies on speech to communicate, considering he often overcommunicates through his speech. 

Unfortunately when building the profile for Reid’s character, Kai, he and Hotch chose to lean into the idea of him being minimally speaking because they recognized that a lot of spaces such as these relate competence to spoken language and would be more likely to reject Reid’s application on the basis that he didn’t need much support. 

While Reid himself doesn’t require extensive day-to-day support, it’s a myth and a shame that these ideas persist because it harms everyone within the community. 

“We do practice and honor ABA principles here, however, so that is something he will now have exposure to. With the exception of our newest admin, all house admins do have BCBA certification. It’s for the best, honestly. He could be much further along if he’d had exposure to this method earlier--almost all of our residents have and it’s worked wonders.”

Rossi furrows his brow but stays silent. “Nonetheless, there are a few more pieces of paperwork we need you to fill out before you go, I have them here.” Marie holds up the papers she’d retrieved from the mantle earlier. 

“These are standard procedure. While you work on these, we can get Kai settled into his room and then you’re welcome to take a tour of the house and help him unpack before you leave”. 

\--  
Marie leads a reluctant Spencer to his room, “You’ll be sharing with a boy named Miles, he’s 22.” She points to Miles’ bed. “Here is your bed” she points to the empty bed on the opposite wall. “Why don’t you unpack your bag and explore the room a bit”. 

Once Marie left, Spencer sat on his new bed for what he hopes will be no longer than a few days. Despite knowing this is for a case, he can’t help but think of his mom and her first few days in a facility. Or of the fact that he subjected her to it against her will. 

Tears gather in the corner of his eyes and he can’t help but to sniffle as he tries to reign in his emotions. The guilt had never felt so heavy until this moment and Reid can’t help but notice how thick it is. 

Marie and Rossi enter to see Reid shoulders drawn and head lowered as he is silently gasping for breath. Rossi immediately approaches Reid, wanting to comfort him. 

“Are you okay?” He whispers, not wanting to overwhelm Reid. 

Reid nods, wiping at his nose with his shirt sleeve. Rossi takes a seat beside him on the bed and starts telling him a story from his college days. After a while, they both get up and unpack Reid’s things then take a tour around the house. Rossi leaves later that day. 

—  
Dinner time is when Reid first runs into JJ. He’d spent most of the day sitting on his bed, reading while Marie, the only other person in the house, could be heard watching soaps in the living room. 

There are 4 house admins total—Marie, JJ, Erin, and Dave. Each admin has 1-2 charges and they group certain activities by that. So, JJ and Marie’s group eat dinner together daily and they use the same car for drop offs and pickups. A few of Dave and Erins charges are still in high school, so their schedules look a little different than those who are out of high school, which influences the structure of their day as well. 

“Everyone, this is Kai--a new emergency placement” Marie says to the table. “He’s staying in the room with Miles.” 

She stops after that and leads Reid to a chair. “Tonight’s dinner is green beans, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes”. 

Reid sits and glances at JJ. She seems to be okay. A little run down looking but otherwise fine. 

“We expect everyone to clear their plate before leaving the table” Marie says as she places his food in front of him. It smells nice but it’s so much more than his normal portions which are often offset by coffee.

JJ glances worriedly at his plate but doesn’t say anything, opting to help one of her charges with his meal instead. Knowing what happened just a few days ago to the resident who was forced into isolation and then still made to eat his food, Reid starts on his meal. There’s no need to explore their reaction to a situation where he doesn’t clear his plate, as he already knows. 

With their plates clear, Reid and Miles are ushered to their shared room once more. “Miles, this is Kai” Marie says, reintroducing Kai to Miles once they’ve made it in. She then goes over night routines and the accompanying wall visual, tomorrow’s schedule, and some rules. All of what she said is posted around the room in large, infantile letters, which brings Reid an ounce of relief as the instructions and plans are made very clear and he has less of a chance to break the rules and get in trouble. Truthfully, he’s focused more on staying out of trouble rather than carrying out an investigation and it shows. 

Nightfalls fairly quickly and Miles and Kai are left alone. Miles had been eyeing Reid suspiciously most of the evening, neither of them having spoken to each other, instead opting to just dance around each other as they went about their evening routines. 

Miles is pretty quiet and reserved, he seems to spend a lot of time reading comics and making his own. He even has employment at a graphic design studio in town. Spencer observes him throughout the evening but ultimately chooses not to engage with him so as to not threaten his cover.   
\--  
A shriek in the middle of the night wakes Reid. He had fallen asleep around 1 AM, after laying in bed, eyes wide open, staring at nothing and thinking. So far, his experience at the house hadn’t been too bad. But, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking of his mom constantly and wondering if she was okay or going through something. What if her facility wasn’t good to her? What if she was being abused? 

He knew the second the case was over, he would head back to Las Vegas to see her and spend some time away from the team. 

Miles screams jolted Reid awake. Heart pounding, he jumps up disoriented.  
“No, please! Stop, no!” He yells repeatedly into the night. His cries get more hysterical by the minute. His legs and arms flail about in the bed. Marie rushes swiftly into the room to calm Miles, clicking the lamp on and shushing him. 

Frozen, Reid stood beside his bed unsure of what to do. Miles hadn’t truly woke up yet, he was just experiencing a nightmare. But why was he screaming “no”? What was he thinking of?

Reid’s mind was running in circles as Marie turned to him and attempted to settle him back to bed. He was resistant at first, feeling the need to pace and trying to push past her. But her insistence, matched with his bubbling fear made him follow her lead and settle back into bed. 

Marie flicks off the light on the way out.

\---  
The next few days are uneventful. Reid falls into a routine at the place and keeps note of what is happening in hopes of providing a break in the case, however not much occurs aside from his roommate’s nightly terrors. On edge, Reid is running off of straight fumes as his coffee withdrawal begins to peak and his sleep continues to be interrupted by Miles’ nightmares. 

It is quite obvious that while Miles may not get into much trouble now, he did at one point. Prompting such fear that only becomes evident at night. 

On Reid’s third night his desperation for coffee and the impending screams of his roommate drive him to the kitchen. The lights are off as he creeps into the kitchen, everyone having retired to their rooms hours ago. 

His coffee cravings had been intensifying from stress and withdrawal and he was at a breaking point. Reid knew he had to satisfy some need to hopefully stave off his premonition of a meltdown. 

The coffee maker was on sleep mode until the morning alarm, but he quickly figured out how to power it up and get it working. Not wanting to get caught out in the open, but also not thinking straight from the sea of feelings threatening to overwhelm him; Reid unplugs the machine, grabs some coffee grounds from the shelf and treks to the front hall where he is less likely to be heard as it is one of the furthest places from the bedroom. 

Plugging it into a corner, Reid powered it up and began to prep the machine. It’s not until a few minutes later when he’s taking his first sip of the drink that he realizes how much he let his guard down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every kind comment literally gave me a small boost to write more, so thank you for everyone who has commented so far 💕


	4. 2nd to last chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a small update. Hoping to gather the energy to finish this fic soon. It's definitely not my best or favorite work tbh. :/

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Marie screeches, snatching the half full coffee mug from Reid’s hand. The machine was unplugged and Reid had been backed into a corner, drinking his coffee when Marie had gone to the kitchen for a midnight cup. When she couldn’t find it, Reid heard her slightly stomping around the house checking rooms. 

He tried to make himself as small as possible so that when she checked the room, she might miss him. Unfortunately, she was thorough in her search and came across him. 

Swiftly she verbally reprimanded him and grabbed his arm, hauling him up and shoving him in his room with a final, “you will be punished for this in the morning.”

Anxious and wired with coffee, Reid doesn’t sleep for the remainder of the night and by the time morning rolls around, Reid is sick with anxiety. 

Yes, he’s an FBI agent and could probably subdue Marie if the situation called for it, but if it broke his cover too soon, then the situation was more than likely uncalled for and would be inexcusable. 

When Marie marches into their room the next morning, Miles cowers. She’s visibly seething, as though she too spent the entire night thinking about the situation. 

“Kai.” She says. Her tone is strict, her sentences short. “Lets go”. Gulping, Reid stands and follows her out of the room. The rising tide of his anxiety beginning to surface even more.

“Stop that”. She says grasping his hand to suppress their anxious stimming. Whining, Reid grips his hands into fists. 

“In here,” she says, leading him into the pantry. He’s never explored this area before and he’s hoping this leads to a break in the case so he can break his cover and leave by the end of day. They navigate through the narrow pantry, to a small door. 

Marie opens it, “Go on” she says gesturing into the room. Reid hesitates so Marie grabs his arm and begins to push him in there. 

Fortunately, the room is larger than the door would lead you to believe. Definitely not enough space to pace, but you can sit comfortably and their is a cushion on the floor as well as a small light. In the corner, Reid spys a camera which appears to be currently deactivated, but will more than likely be turned on once Marie leaves. Scrunching up, Reid sits hunched over his knees, pressing his eyes to his knees.

\---  
It’s a few hours later when the door opens. “Hey Kai, here is your lunch.” JJ whispers. She attempts to hand a plate of food to Reid who pushes it away. He doesn’t want that in the room because the smell will overwhelm the space and cause him to feel nauseous.

“Please take it.” She pleads softly. Reid shakes his head, a whine building up in the back of his throat. Gathering the energy, he looks up to JJ, then glances at the camera. 

“The camera has no audio, it’s just a video feed. And nobody is here except me right now.” She says. “How are you holding up?”  
Reid rubs his face on his shirt sleeves before whispering, “I wish this case was over.” His voice breaks off. 

“I know, I know”. JJ says sadly. 

“Are you okay?” Reid asks, sniffling. 

JJ nods, “I’m alright. It’s a lot of work…” she trails off. “I’m not--I’m not sure if this is something worth mentioning, but the neighbor. He’s probably the worst part of all of this.” 

Curious, Reid tilts his head and looks back at JJ questioningly. 

“He’s just always around and I can tell he likes me. He knows a lot about the house and the people in it too. Apparently, he was in a relationship with Marie on and off for a few years. I don’t know.” She says uncertainly. 

“I’m meeting up with him tomorrow during one of my breaks. I’m hoping he’ll have some insight into what’s been happening because, other than abusive practices that should be addressed, I’m not seeing any homicidal tendencies among admin or residents and I’m starting to worry we may be looking in the wrong place”. She says, cringing. 

Reid makes a strangled noise at the idea that he may be subjected to all of this for nothing.

JJ’s phone rings with an alert. “Agh, that’s the home security alert. Someone just arrived. I’ve got to go, I’m sorry.” She says, reluctantly closing Reid back up into the small room where he sits for the remainder of the day 

At the end of the day, Marie retrieves Reid from the room. “I hope you learned your lesson.” She says briskly, motioning for Reid to follow her. Slowly, he unfolds himself and eagerly follows her out of the pantry where she instructs him to bathe and then report to the kitchen for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave any fic ideas in the comments

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear your thoughts on this work + any suggestions for new fics! I'll be posting daily until November 12th so any ideas are much appreciated even if they're not written right away :)


End file.
